Marvell Rolls-Out Industry’s First 802.11ac 4*4 Wi-Fi Solution.

Marvell has announced Avastar 88W8864, a wireless local area network (WLAN) system-on-chip (SoC) and the industry’s first 802.11ac 4*4 solution built to improve the throughput of enterprise and retail access points (APs) and the robustness of wireless video distribution.

IEEE 802.11ac is the next-generation Wi-Fi wireless networking standard on the 5GHz band with theoretical multi-station WLAN throughput of at least 1Gb/s and a maximum single link throughput of at least 500Mb/s. The IEEE 802.11ac extends the air interface concepts embraced by 802.11n with wider RF bandwidth (up to 160MHz), more MIMO spatial streams (up to 8), multi-user MIMO, and high-density modulation (up to 256 QAM). Currently the standard is under development. All the solutions entering the market today are compliant with draft 3.0 or draft 4.0 802.11ac specification.

Earlier this year, Marvell announced the industry's first 802.11ac 2*2 combination radio chip, the Avastar 88W8897, which pairs today’s leading wireless technologies – near field communications (NFC) and Bluetooth 4.0 – with mobile multiple input multiple output (MIMO), transmit beamforming and support for Wi-Fi Certified Miracast. The latest addition to Marvell's portfolio of Avastar 802.11ac products, the 88W8864 establishes new industry benchmarks for the wireless performance and range of enterprise and retail APs, service provider gateways, hotspots, video bridges and set-top boxes across the globe and is currently sampling.

“I believe that with Marvell's new breakthrough 802.11ac 4x4 Wi-Fi solution, we are positioned to change the landscape for enterprise-class network infrastructure and carrier grade video applications, further empowering the entire spectrum of always-on devices. The new era of the digital lifestyle requires superior wireless connectivity which serves as a critical pillar for delivering live content across all screen sizes and ‘Smart Furnishings’ for connected consumers,” said Weili Dai, co-founder of Marvell.

The 4*4 WLAN SoC configuration is the baseline architecture for best-of-breed enterprise, retail and service provider network infrastructures. Since the introduction of the Marvell Avastar 88W8764 802.11n 4*4 SoC in 2010, Marvell has become a leading provider of the 4*4 architecture, delivering the highest peak throughput wireless coverage in the industry and the most robust, reliable link quality available. By combining the advanced 4*4 MIMO solution with Marvell's market-proven beamforming technology and now 802.11ac support, the 88W8864 is poised to further enhance the company’s stronghold in indoor and outdoor APs and also expand its presence in the service provider video market.

“I am very proud to see our dedicated team of engineers continue to build ground-breaking wireless technologies that support the latest industry standards, significantly improving network capacity, performance and reliability for Wi-Fi devices accessing the cloud infrastructure. Working with the industry's largest and most innovative global carriers and OEMs over the last decade, Marvell has established a successful track record of delivering world class wireless solutions for enterprise, consumer and mobile applications,” added Mr. Dai.

“Marvell's innovation in the wireless space continues to improve the performance and connectivity of both enterprise and consumer applications, such as access points, set-top boxes and carrier-grade high-definition video. With the release of the Marvell 802.11ac 4x4 chip, the company is bringing to market a solution that offers a significant increase in Wi-Fi bandwidth capacity and reliability. As the first wireless provider to introduce a 4x4 802.11ac chip, Marvell is building on its tradition of delivering solutions that alleviate design challenges and enhance the end-user experience,” said Will Strauss, president and principal analyst at Forward Concepts.